onehouse

Christmas Lights: Day 12

I sent this out to my family last year as the ghost of my Christmas past. Enjoy!

Christmas Lights: Day 10

Can I call this one a little "light" humor and push the theme for this year? This just made me laugh but I'm a sucker for a good comedy of errors. About 21 minutes. 'Tis the season to not take yourself to seriously. I guess that would be every season.

Merry Christmas Mrs Moskowitz.

The Great Whore

One of my favorite jesters Stephen Colbert underlining the capital F in Fool:

"Now I've got no problem with the apostate part because I don't know what that word means but "The Great Whore"? You're talking about a religion that is against condoms and the pill. We would be terrible whores! Unless you're into pregnant whores in which case, shame on you!"

There are thousands of hours wasted on taking this kind of garbage seriously. No comic relief as pathetic little gangs of self-made thugs hash out who is in and who is out and who is a heretic and who is a whore. If you thought this was faith, you'd have to lose your religion and most of your lunch. Or as Colbert says:

"Hey, it's just proof that these guys are divinely inspired because no human being would say those things."

Picture Blogging: Day 20: Windup

Someone sent me this pretty little windup this week to go on the shelf along with the windup birds, lobsters, skeletons, robots, and chattering teeth. On occasion, there are races across the office with low stakes betting. I think this one could be a strong contender.

You can't go wrong with sparky wind up things. Video here to prove my point.

Picture Blogging: Day 17: Silly Change

I started my first bank account when I was about 8 years old with 500 pennies - carefully counted and wrapped. My mom would help me pull the "really old" ones out just for fun. I think I still have some of those old pennies sitting in a jar somewhere in my boxes. I found this post at my other blog. I'm cleaning that one up and will transfer some of the stuff here.

Don't you think a country that makes a coin like this would probably be the place that was bothered by whether their leader bowls or drinks orange juice or has a silly pastor? But in this strange world, somehow it's the country with eagles and presidents that's has the goofy media all knotted up over trivialities.

Working for a non-profit means you are always counting your pocket change. In Canada, a significant amount of money can be tearing a hole in your pocket with loonies (one dollar coins) and the inventive follow up, toonies (two dollar coin). In 2004, the Canadian mint produced a quarter with a design by 11 year old, Nick Wooster. I never saw too many of these but if I did I'd happily mix them around with the loonies and toonies. It's important not to take yourself too seriously.

Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble.

Picture Blogging: Day 14: Raining Cats and Minions

Okay, I know this has been around the net but it gave me a good loonie-tunes/Saturday-morning kind of laugh when I needed to lighten up. I'm not a cat person in the least. Sorry cat people. I'm sure being quite allergic doesn't help.

And the minions have melted:

Picture Blogging: Day 10: Spring Snow Break

My pictures are on another site today.

Spring Snow Break Part 1 and Part 2.

If I had lemons, I'd make lemonade. But today I had snow so...

Picture Blogging: Day 5: Bob & Co.

I picked up this book in Toronto last year. It's about asking big questions and then just playing around with them in the silliest kind of way. I keep it standing with the cover facing me on the bookshelf in my room because it cheers me up. Those who can't play with the big questions think of themselves as Serious Folks. Sometimes they call themselves Serious Folks in a Battle for Hearts and Minds. I think they are confusing themselves with God. Or they think God is too small to handle us playing around with big questions so they have to step in and be serious. Either way, they should read Bob & Co. and have a good giggle.

(I couldn't find any inside shots for this so maybe I'll take a couple with the camera so you can get a taste. If the shots are blurry it's because the silliness made my hand shake.)

Doodles

Doodles
by Taro Gomi

I asked for and received this book for Christmas this year and I can't recommend it enough. Four hundred pages of giant doodles to complete and color on a Saturday morning or while trying to get to sleep at night. It moves my mind out of well-worn ruts and there's no right or wrong way of filling the pages. You just let loose and doodle. And yes, it's just plain fun to give and get.

You can see some inside pages here. Do yourself a favor. Get this book and a 60 pack of pencil crayons for the living room coffee table and see what happens.

Chatters with my aunt.

On occasion I have some long silly chats with my fifteen your old niece. I realized the other day that I have no silliness category on this blog and it should be a requirement not to take oneself too seriously. I thought  I'd share a portion as I ponder my Onehouse wanderings and wonderings. I was telling my niece how my housemate swears a blue streak when playing ancient Nintendo games on a more ancient console. 

me: She swears like the guy with the furnace in A Christmas Story.

niece: guy with the furnace?

me: You know, the dad in A Christmas Story who does battle with the furnace all the time.  Ralphie? You'll shoot your eye out? Great movie.

niece: ohhhh i thought you meant a christmas carol
me: no,no furnace in that one.

niece: yes there is. the nice worker is trying to warm up in front of it at the beginning.

me: I do think there was a millennium falcon but I could be wrong.

Yes, right the worker was warming himself in front of the millennium falcon.

Until it jumped to light speed and then he ran and said "God Bless Us Everyone!" and then he ate the Wookiee for Christmas dinner.
How could I forget?

niece: wookiee?

me: chewbacca is a wookiee. He appeared in Hamlet as well. Must I teach you everything my child?

niece: ohhh i get the whole wookie thing now.

me: It was the Hamlet reference wasn't it? That's what clued you in.

If in doubt, think Hamlet.

A good life motto.

That and look both ways before you cross your dealer.

I meant your mother.

I mean the street.

niece: all righty then

me: Hamlet used to say all righty then...

niece: really?

i don't believe you

me: well, all righty then your highness until the morrow..and anon...

niece: what's that from?

me: Hamlet Act 27. Just before the wookiee enters...
niece: all righty then.
me: Have to go now. Have to pack up some magazines.
niece: okay, bye.
me: Until the morrow...and anon.

Are you kind people who wrote me still sure you want this blog? :)